IHG plans mid-scale hotels in small cities to counter slowdown

New Delhi: InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) India is focusing on increasing the presence of its mid-level brands - Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express - to more cities to counter the overall slowdown being faced by the hospitality segment.

Speaking to IANS, the IHG Managing Director (South West Asia) Sudeep Jain, however, said that in the smaller cities the company has not witnessed a “dramatic slowdown in any manner”.

“To counterbalance the slowdown with our brands of Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express, in particular, we are entering tier 2,3 and tier 4 cities. There we are not seeing any dramatic slowdown in any manner. That’s more virgin territory, under-penetrated, dynamics are different, the owner profiles are different,” Jain said, adding that the company has got the right brands to target the smaller cities.

He also said that the company plans to increase the footprint of its luxury brands InterContinental and Crowne Plaza.

“So our development strategy is to grow our mainstream brands and to enter the luxury space and introduce the brands in India, so we are well along the way,” he said.

The company plans to open 7-8 hotels in the year ahead, Jain told IANS.

He noted that the company has witnessed double-digit growth in the last four years and expects it to continue growing in the current fiscal, although sustaining the high rate may be difficult. (IANS)

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